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Amir OsterweilI found this to be a valuable resource in explaining the appeal of Communism to peasants in China. I found it especially powerful that the Wang Fucheng mentions how his father died from abuse of opium. This is a good example of the lasting effects of the opium war on China. Wang describes povery in a southern China village. He mentions the appeal of the Communists was that they stood up to the abuses of the landlord class. This illustrates the appeal of the communists to the peasant class and I would definitely use this to explify the appeal of the communists to the peasants.
Amir OsterweilIt is evident that this card features Communist propaganda from the Cultural Revolution. The card features 2 Red Guards and what looks like 2 workers. The worker in the rear is holding the "Little Red Book" of Mao's sayings along with a hammer. This is typical propaganda from the time since it features Mao's two main characters from the Cultural Revolution, workers and Red Guards. The latter were considered vanguards of the revolution and were meant to stamp out the 4 olds: old customs, old habits, old ideas, old culture. The purpose of the movement was to reestablish Mao's authority of the leader of Communist China and eliminate dissent. High school teachers, unviesity professors, and other professionals were targeted and forced into hard labor in the countryside as "reeducation". The dates 1871-1971 relate to Shanghai Commune modeled after the Paris Commune 100 years earlier. The idea was to take power from the old party apparatus and form a revolutionary government.
Amir OsterweilWhere can I find more information on his short rule? I am curious to know more specifically about the transition between Sun Yatsen and Yuan Shikai. My understanding based on the limited coverage in my school's textbook is that Sun Yatsen "lacked military support to secure national unity". Is there more to it than this? Why then does he get the credit of being "the father of modern China"? He seems pretty ineffectual. The rule of YUan Shikai, is an excellent example of Crane Briton's anatomy of a revolution. Time and time again democratic ideals are forgotten and handed over to a repressive regime. My understanding is that Shikai's repression sparked local revolts and he lacked the support of his generals.
Amir OsterweilI was surprised by how much the Xu admired the American system and values. I was expecting the article to be critical of the US. Instead, Xu praises the US system of education, availability of consumer goods, and family life. He aptly emphasizes the American prioritization of money. Which, I expected to be critical, but he seems to admire it and lauds men such as Rockerfeller. It made sense to me that he would admire the education since he studied at Cornell. However, he does offer some criticism in that professors are some of the lowest paid in the nation. It would be interested to read what he thought of China in the same categories. The most interesting observation I thought was his criticism of American superstitions since we are usually critical of Chinese supersitions i.e. ivory.
Amir OsterweilI am grateful for this primary source resource. Sun Yatsen's Three Principals of the people are mentioned in my textbook but but not suffieciently explained. I will have my students read this text and paraphrase each goal and/or answer text specific questions. I try to incorporate primary sources in every unit that I teach. I found it intersesting that he claims that nationalism and democracy are both rooted in the Chinese tradition. He was seems to have populist ideals since he emphaizes the importance of the people over that of the monarch. Furthermore, this reading resonated with last week's lesson since he refers to the Qing dynasty as "Manchu invaders" suggesting that he never accepted the legitamacy of the dynasty's 260 year reign. He is also influenced by the western ideal by the separation of powers which will be an excellent segway back to Enlightenment ideals. I will help students make this connection. I also found it interesting that he states, that the "principal of state owenership is most profound" in his studies of western governments. Did he have communist/socialist sympathies? A good question to ask students would be what side they think Sun would have taken in the Civil War.
Amir OsterweilI think one of the biggest challenges ahead, is our giant bureaucracy. It seems difficult to get anything done in our government. For example the emperor involved the Board of Rites, Board of War, the Board of Revenue, the Bureau of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, the Bureau of Mining and Railway among others to assess a memorial submitted by a metropolitan censor. We are drowning in our own inefficentcy. Another example is the "eight-legged essay" from the civil service exam. We must modernize this exam and others aspects of our government to move forward. We must look to Japan as a model in reforming our education system. The China of the past is not the China of the future!
Amir OsterweilYesterday I visited the Fowler Museum at UCLA, to view the exhibit titled How to Make the Universe Right: The Art of Priests and Shamans from Vietnam to Southern China. This was an interesting exhibit of artifacts which featured shrines, alters, masks, daggers, and other paraphanelia from the Shamanistic tradition. I found it interesting since it focused on the Taoist religion which I know little about. The highlight of the exhibit for me was the tapestries various deities from Taoist mythology. One diety was the god of thunder which is looked as a postive figure. I found this interesting because it's form looked like a demon and was foboding. I connected this to some of the figures I have seen in Buddhist temples in Japan that look like demons but are actually there so ward off evil. Another interesting thing I learned is the Taoist have 10 judges which "try" you after you die to decide where one goes in the afterlife. I wonder if these are the same judges I viewed in the Ennoji Temple in Kamakura, Japan. I am definintely seeing some similarities between the two religions. On a sad note, I learned that many tapestries and artifacts from Shamanistic rituals in Loas have been sold since they are intricate and valued as artistic objects in their own right. I also learned that in Loas, the cermeony to become ordained in Taoism takes 4 days, it is not completed by all males due to the financial burden.
Amir OsterweilI went to the the documentary titled, Above the Drowning Sea, at USC last week. It was a very informative and moving documentary about Jews escaping Austria during the late 1930's and fleeing to Shanghai China. I was very interested in seeing it when I received the e-mail since it is an event I knew nothing about. The film focuses on Kieth Eisner, the son of a Jewish refugee as he goes back to Shanghai to retrace his father's steps. It also features various stories from other Jewish refugees that lived in Shanghai during the period.
The aspect of the film that I found both moving and facinating is how war brought two unlikely people's together. As pointed out by William Chiang in the film, Jews fleeing Europe lived and interacted with Chinese refugees that were fleeing the Japanese invasion in Nanking and Manchuria. "They were refugees in their own country" states Chiang. Both these displaced peoples managed to make a life for themselves in Shanghi, a city that had been ravaged by civil war, and was beginning to be bombarded by the Japanese. Another heartbreaking element is added when we learn that when the Japanese took the city, Jews were forced into a ghetto.
The relationships between Jews and Chinese is highlighted by focusing Vera and Zhou, two women who were children at the time. Both women bonded in the neighborhood and Zhou learned of Jewish customs, while Vera reminisces on the kindness of Zhou's father. Once again we are reminded that just as world forces and history brought them together, the two girls are taken apart. Vera's family left Shanghai in 1949, presumably because the Communists took power, and Zhou asks, "why did I never hear from you". It is likely as Professor Dube pointed out in the discussion after the film, that it was too difficult and could present some danger to communicate with outsiders during the Cultural Revolution in China from the 1950's to the mid-1970's.
Amir Osterweil“Our ultimate goal is the liberation of the working class. “
“Long live the unity of workers.”
These two quotes resonated with me because I found it ironic to be coming from a country that has been Communist for 60 years. It reminded me of the paintings of Mao with factory workers, and I felt like China had done a complete 180. One can see the inequality in China, which is the antithesis of Communism. It seemed like Communism, as an economic theory was all but dead in the video. The discussion was very interesting because it revealed that the workers still have power if they can ally with the Communist party. So it seems like there is a nascent apparatus for organizing, i.e. laws, people just need to educated about the laws.
Amir OsterweilI had know idea that prior to the war, the tables were reveresed and that the US feared the South might attack the North. Having visited the DMZ I was definitely presented with the perspective that the North Koreans started the war.
Amir OsterweilThis is an excerpt from Mc Arthur's book which deals with his disagreement with Truman over invading China. Its a great primary source that I use with my students use with my students. The most telling portion is that the American Bombers could attack the bridges only along the Yalu river as long as they did not violate Chinese terrotory. Knowin this the Chinese would fire at the planes from the Chinese side the border.
Amir OsterweilI use this article with my students about the aftermath of WWII. Title "Japan Struggling to Say Sorry"
Amir OsterweilThere is also a documented account of Japanese officers having a head chopping contest.
Amir OsterweilOne thing that struck me in the Empire and War reading was the hypocrisy of the League of Nations. The reading mentions that Japan was censured when it invaded Manchuria, yet nothing happened to Italy when it invaded Ethiopia in 1936, one year prior. The pleas of Halle Salasian, the emperor of Ethiopia where ignored. One could interpret this a racist double standard, it’s OK for a European nation to take over another nation, but not as Asian nation. I would expect this to have been used as a justification for the Pan-Asian Asian vision the Japanese militarists held, since the reading states that one of the goals was to overcome racism.
Amir OsterweilI gained a new perspective on Korean occupation in this reading. It is useful as a case study in explaining imperialism especially since it involves Japan, the non-Western imperial power. It helped me to undeststand in greater detail, Russia'a and Japan's interest in Korea before the Russo-Japanses War. The reading provided a more detailed explanation of outside influence in Korea which helped me better understanding the outbreak of the war. I also thought it was intersting to read that some think of the Japanese occupation in a positive light. Generally my experience in Korea has been, that Koreans view the occupation as largely a negative occurance ad demonize the Japanese.
